Prevention of dementia and care of dementia patients from nursing perspective : best practices and development needs

Dementia is a syndrome characterized by neurodegeneration leading to irreversible progressive deterioration in cognitive ability and capacity for everyday activities in independent living. Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common type of dementia. The population of dementia is growing rapidly as the world population aging. It dramatically affects the quality of life of patients and burdens the pressure of society. (Ferri, Prince et al. 2005.) Conquering dementia is a long war globally based on the huge influence for the patients and society from this disease. The preventions and therapies of disease are significant to improve the patients’ daily life. However, it is difficult to find out the best way to prevent and cure dementia. The medications for treating this disease also have their limitations and side effects. The aim of this thesis is to find out the best ways to prevent and care dementia patients from nursing perspective. To achieve the aim of this paper, these 3 following research questions were formulated: What are the nursing means in preventing dementia? What is the role of nurses in dementia patients’ care? What kind of nursing care is provided for dementia patients in different phase of the disease? The method used in this thesis was literature review. Choosing the keywords of this topic, combining inclusive and exclusive criteria to search the relevant articles. The databases which authors used were Cinahl Complete (EBSCOhost), PubMed and Elsevier: Science Direct. Databases are available in Turku University of Applied Sciences library. The evidence and results gathered in this thesis demonstrate that there are preponderant advantages related with effective prevention and quality nursing care for dementia patients. In the early stage of dementia, available information and medical service will improve the prognosis and decrease the complication of disease. The information presented in this literature review provides nurses with current and relevant material concerning best practices in care for patients with dementia such as the role of nurses in prevention and care of dementia patients, communication, support family caregivers and improvement of palliative care